Spreader and seeder apparatus



March 2, 1954 F. s. AJERO SPREADER AND SEEDER APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed Jan. 25, 1950 INVENTOR. {W J F. S. AJERO SPREADER ANDSEEDER APPARATUS March 2, 1954 3 Sheets-Shee t 2 Original Filed Jan. 25,1950 INVENTOR. f mlw March 2, 1954 F. S. AJERo 2,670,883

SPREADER AND SEEDER APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 25, 1950 3Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Man 2, 1954 SPREADER AND SEEDER APPARATUS Fortunato S. Ajero,Chicago, Ill., assignr, by mesne assignments, to Avco ManufacturingCorporation, of Delaware New York, N. Y.', a corporation Originalapplication. January 25, 1950, Serial No.

140,495, now Patent No. 2,626,729, dated January 27, 1953. March 9,1951',

8; Claims.

mondzAa. Juzwiak, and entitled Spreader;

' This: application is adivisional application of my: rim-pending case,Serial No. 140,495, January 25,, 1950;. and entitled Spreader andSeeder. Apparatus, now patented under N0. 2-,626g729:

A. principal object of" my invention. is to provide shutter means formaterial spreading apparatus: which may be quickly and easily detachediand replaced, for purposes of maintenance; repair and replacement".

Another: obj ect'. of the present invention is the provision. ofimproved: shutter means which combine the=featuresof quick detachabilityand close fit,

In its: broad aspect my: invention comprises the combination with amaterial spreader including a hopper having aaseriesof aligned dischargeports in. thebottom. thereof; spaced apart: fingers secured" to saidhopper on opposite sid'esof the discharge ports; a shutter strip havingat least one aperture therein adapted to register in varying degree withone of the discharge port's, as said strip is moved relative to saidhopper bottom, said strip-having a plurality ofedge indentationsregistrable with the rows of fingers, but only when said" strip is movedto-aposition in which the discharge ports are covered; and drivemeansfor moving the shutter strip relative to said hopper bottom.

Iii-preferred embodiments of my invention the bottom of the hopper andthe strip are both curved; but the shutterstrip is formed from aresilient material and in the unflexed position has a slightly greaterradius of curvature than thehopperbottom. Hence upon being assembled tothe hopper the shutter strip is flexed, and thereby fits snugly againstsaid hopper bottom.

In: order that my invention may be more fully" disclosed, reference is.had to the accompanying. drawings which illustrate one .form of shuttermeans embodying the foregoing and.

such other principles, advantages or capabilities as maybe, pointed outas this description pro.- ceed's', or as are inherent in thepresentinventiom. For purposes of; clarity in exposition the followingdescription is explicit, and the accomtype shown and described inPatentNo. 2,510,231; issued June 6, 1950, to Ed-- of two parallel rowsof;

Divided and this application Serial No. 214,788-

2 panying. drawings are detailed, but it is distinctly to be understoodthat'said exposition is illustrative only, andthat myinvention is notrestrictedto the particular details recited in the specificationor shownin the drawings.

In the. drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wheel: sup-- ported material:spreader embodying my invention;.

Figure 2.is a fragmentary side elevational view taken insection on theline l-2' of Figure 1;,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevationalview" taken in section on theline. 3-3 of Fig,- ure2;

Figure 4 is" a fragmentary bottom view showing. my' novel shutter meansand a portion of the: control mechanism: therefor:

Figure 5 isa fragmentary side elevational' view taken inlsection on: theline 5-5' of Figure 3:

Figure dis a fragmentary side elevational viewtaken in. section on theline 66 of Figure. 3;. and

Figure; 7 is a fragmentary plan view-of the: bottom interior of, thehopper, showing the discharge port partially open,. the: drive shaftbeing: omittedforv purposes of clarity.

Like reference: characters designate like. parts inthe drawings: and inthe description of my'ine vention following hereafter.

Before proceeding with the. detailed: description of: the constructionand operation of the several parts comprising theembodiments shown. inthe drawings, and to better indicate the concepts of my invention, Idescribe, in brief outline below; the organization and coaction of theprincipal subcombinations and parts comprising said embodiments. Moreparticularly, my spreader and seeder apparatus is shown as including (1)a hopper in which the material is placed, said hopper having one. ormore discharge openings therein, (2) shutter means for regulating thedischarge area of each of said discharge openings, (3) an armaturerotatable within the hopper'and including (4) means for agitatingv and.distributing material lengthwise: of. the armature, with substantiallyno tangential or radial flow of material relative to the armature andagainst the sides of the hopper, and (5) meansfor positively discharginga measured quantity of material from each discharge port, in which thequantitydischarged varies withjthe settingof the shutter means.

Turning-now to Figures 1, 2 and 5, the hopper designated. generallyby-thei numeral. l9,,includes an arcuate' bottom plate H, afront wallI2, a

rear wall l3 and two end walls 14 and I5. A pair of angle irons i3 and Hextend along the bottom of the hopper iii to provide transversestiffening at the points of connection between the front and rear wallsl2 and I3 and the bottom plate i. The hopper H3 is further provided witha pair of hinged covers l8 and i9 and their associated handles 23 and 2l, whereby the hopper l may be loaded with material which is to bedispensed. As is best shown in Figure '7, taken in conjunction withFigure 3, the bottom plate H includes a plurality of spaced apartdischarge openings 22, each of which includes a substantiallyrectangular portion 23 and a principal discharge area 24.

Referring again to Figures 1 and 5, a center bridging member 25 issecured to the lower leg portions of the angle irons l6 and H. A drawbar26 extends from and is secured to one end of the bridging member 25. Atractor hitch 2? is fastened to the other end of the drawbar 25. Two tierods 28, 23 extend from opposite ends of the hopper It to the drawbar 25adjacent the free end thereof. A third tie rod 33 extends from the upperportion of the front wall 2 to the drawbar 25, and is furtherstrengthened by the stiffener 3|.

As is best shown in Figures 3 and i, a plurality of strips 32 are spacedalong each side of the bottom plate l l, on the under surface thereof. Apair 'of spring fingers 33, 33 extend from each of the strips 32 towardthe center line of the bottom plate H, and provide sliding support forthe shutter plates and 35, said shutter plates 34 and 35 beingpositioned on opposite sides of the center bridging member 25. Figure 4shows each of the shutter plates 34 and 35 as having a plurality ofnotches 36 in each longitudinal edge thereof, while in addition, each ofthe shutter plates 34 and 35 includes a plurality of apertures 31, thespacing of which corresponds to the spacing between the dischargeopenings 22 in the bottom plate H. Similarly, the spacing of the notches3B in the edges of the shutter plates 34 and 35 corresponds to thespacing of the spring fingers 33 of the strips 32; however, when thenotches 35 are aligned with the fingers 33, the apertures 31 are out ofregister with the discharge openings 22.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, a hinge post 38 extends downwardlyfrom the center bridging member 25. A bell crank 39 pivots on the hingepost 38, and is secured thereto by the cotter pin 43 and the retainingwasher 550.. At diametrically opposed points on the bell crank 39 aretwo pivot pins 4! and 42, a pair of straps 53 and 44 being pivotallyconnected to the bell crank 39 by the pins 4% and 42, respectively. Apintle 45 extends from the shutter lug ie on the shutter plate 34, andis connected to the strap 43 by the eye bolt AT. A pair of nuts 43 and49 adjustably secure the eye bolt ll to the strap 53, while the cotterpin 53 retains the eye bolt 31 on the pintle 45. Similarly, the strap 44is connected to the pintle 5! of the shutter lug 52 projecting beneaththe shutter plate 35, by the eye bolt 53 and the securing nuts 54 and55.

When the bell crank 33 is turned in a clockwise direction, as viewed inFigure 4, it is apparent that the shutter plates 34 and 35 move awayfrom the center bridging member 25. Counterclockwise rotation of thebell crank 39 results in movement of the shutter plates 35 and 35 in theopposite direction, whereupon the apertures 3'! maybe brought intoregister with the dis-1 4 charge opening 22 in varying degree. In orderto provide manual control of the position of the shutter plates 33 and35 relative to the bottom plate H, I provide a handle 55 (Figure 1),which pivots about the pin 5'! and is connected to the arm 58 of thebell crank 39 by the connecting rod 59. if'he lower end portion of thecontrol handle 56 operates in a slot 53 in the drawbar 23, the movementof said lower end portion relative to the drawbar 25 being adjustable bymeans of the flow regulator plate 6!, which is adjustably secured to thedrawbar by the fastener 32. When the control handle 56 is in theposition shown in Figure l, the shutter plates 34 and 35 are moved awayfrom the center bridging member 25 to the closed position. Upon turningthe handle 55 in the opposite direction, however, the discharge openings22 are uncovered, to the extent that the how regulator plate 5! permitsrotational movement of the lower end portion of the control handle 53along the slot 50.

Referring now to Figure 3, a stub shaft 33 extends through the end walll5 and is driven by the wheel es, the bearing support for the shaft 63including the thrust collar 35, which is secured in place by thefastener 56. A similar stub shaft 53, not shown, is driven by the wheel61 and extends into the interior of the hopper Ill at the opposite endwall 14. A center brace 68 (Figures 3 and 5) extends between the twoupper edges of the bottom plate H, and supports the bearing 59, saidbearing being secured to the brace 53 by the fasteners 13 and H. A driveshaft "E2 is supported at one end thereof by the bearing 63, the otherend of the shaft 12 being drivably connected to the stub shaft 53 by thecoupling members '53 and i5, and their associated fasteners 35 and 15. Athrust collar 11 is secured to the drive shaft 12 by the fastener 78,while lubricant is supplied to the bearing 69 through the lubricantfitting it. A second drive shaft is supported at one end thereof by thebearing 63, and is also provided with a thrust collar 8! secured theretoby the fastener 82.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 6, the drive shaft '12 is shown as havinga plurality of wobble plates 83 spaced therealong, said plates 83 beinginclined approximately 25 degrees from a plane perpendicular to theshafts l2 and 83, although obviously other angles of pitch may be used.Each of the wobble plates 83 includes a major lobe 35 and a minor lobe35, the respective leading edges 85 and ill of which are substantiallyradial and circumferentially spaced from each other approximatelydegrees. In addition to being larger in area than the minor lobe 35, themajor lobe $4 is also proportioned such that the radial distance fromthe axis of rotation of the shaft 72 to its center of gravity is greaterthan the radial distance to the center of gravity of the minor lobe 35.Figure 3 shows the wobble plates 83 as being circumferentially spacedaround the shaft 12 for a purpose more fully disclosed below, while inaddition, Figure 3 shows the coupling members 73 and M as including aminor lobe 88 and a major lobe 89, respectively. The drive shaft 85,only one end portion of which is shown, also includes a plurality ofwobble plates 33 arranged similarly, except that the wobble plates 33are pitched opposite the wobble plates 83. In addition to the wobbleplates 83 and 90,,thef

shafts ,12 and 83 include a plurality of subs'tan'i tially disk-shapedfeed members 9| which operate in the discharge opening 22., Each of themembers Bi includes a pluralityof stepped feeder teeth 92, while themembers 9 I areso-poshtioned on the drive'shafts T2 and- 81Fsate-penetrate intothe rectangular portion- 23 f the discharge openings22 adjacent to the unbroken straight edgethereof (Figure 7): Inaddition, eachof the feed members 3 isprovided with a pairoftangs 93 and94 which-extendradially'to the working circle of the feeder teeth 32,and fromwhich wings '95 and 96 project-respectively; Each of the wings95 and" 96 extends= to the same sideof-the' feed member BI, and isinclined from the plane of rotation' of saidmembertl to sweep materialaway from the feeder teeth 92 as the shaft T2 (or 80) rotates inthedirectionindicated by the arrows of Figure 3'; A breaker arm 91-projects from that sideof thefeed' member 9! which f'acesthe principaldischarge area. 24, said arm 9-7 extendingradially to substantially thesame extent as thefeed'er teeth '92, so thatsaid' arm- 9-? alsopenetrates an appreciable amount into the discharge openings 22 duringeach revolution of the feed member 9|. Another breaker arm 98 extendsfrom the opposite side of the feedmember-Bl; however the arm 98terminates short of the feeder. teeth; 52;.so-asnot' to interfere withthe bottom plate. H. upon rotation. of thefeed member 9|. In. addition,each. of; the feed members 9| adjacent to. the center bearing Glandtheend thrust collars'fih isr provided. with anagitator arm l'lwhichbreak up cohered or packed material with. which it comes into.contact.

Advantageously, the shutter plates 34 and 35 can be quickly detachedfrom the hopper ID, for cleaning, repairing, or replacement. To removethe shutter plates 34 and 35, they are first moved as far away from thecenter bridging member 25 as is possible using the control handle 56.Following this, the cotter pins 50 (only one of which is shown) areremoved from the pintles 45 and The straps 43 and 44 are then swung todisengage the eye bolts 41 and 53 from the pintles 45 and 5|. A fewlight hammer blows on the lugs 46 and 52 are all that are necessary tomove the shutter plates 34 and 35 along the bottom plate I I until thenotches 36 are in alignment with the fingers 33, after which saidshutter plates may be lifted away from the bottom plate H.

In practice, I prefer that the shutter plates 34 and 35 be formed ofspring steel or the like, with a slightly greater radius of curvature,in the unfiexed condition, than the bottom plate I I, so that saidplates 34 and 35 are slightly flexed upon assembly to the hopper I0.This feature has the advantage of maintaining the shutter plates 34 and35 snugly against the bottom plate II, and thus prevents accumulation ofmaterial between said plates. To facilitate the installation of theshutter plates 34 and 35 on to the bottom plate H, in view of thedifferences in curvature, the ends of the spring fingers 33 are bentoutwardly a small distance, as shown in Figure 5. Thus, the plates 34and 35 may be replaced as quickly as they are removed. This feature ofquick detachability is particularly desirable since it permits the readyreplacement of the shutter plates 34 and 35 with shutter plates having adifierent number of apertures therein, as would be the case, forinstance, where it is desired to use the device for side dressing. Forexample, the shutter plates 34 and 35 may each have but two aperturestherein, in which case the apparatus will dispense fertilizer or othermaterial in four bands or rows. Because of eflicient 6, distributionofimaterial within the hopper t0, and the positive feed action of thefeed'zmemb'ers l", the'fihw ofmaterial is uniform from each" of the fourapertures, eventhough the effective discharge area may-be quite small.

While -I have shown and described'certain prefer-red embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that these embodiments have been-iven. by wayof example only and that various changes andrearrangementsof the details shown therein-may be made without departingfrom thespirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1 A materiali spreader comprising an elongated hopper having anelongated row of" discharge ports in the bottom thereof; a plurality oflongitudinally spaced apart fingers secured to said'hopperon eachside-ofsaid row of discharge ports, said fingers being directed towardsaid row; and a removable shutter for said discharge ports,saidshutter'cornprising an elongated plate with a row of aperturesadapted to register in varying degree with said discharge. ports, and,on each longitudinal edge of the shutter plate, a plurality of notcheslongitudinally spaced from one another at distances coinciding with thespacing. of the fingers, the individual notches being, slightly longerthan the corresponding fingers, sothat. the shutter canbe assembled withand disassembledfromthe hopper. with. theaid of a. longitudinal movementof theshutter covering only part of. the length of the hopper.

2. A material spreader including an elongated hopper with an elongatedrow of discharge ports in the bottom thereof; an elongated shutter platewith apertures positioned and shaped to register in varying degree withsaid discharge ports, in varying operative positions of the shutterplate, the shutter plate also having two elongated rows oflongitudinally spaced notches, one such row in each longitudinal edge ofthe shutter plate; and two elongated rows of longitudinally spacedfasteners for the shutter plate, each fastener being secured to thehopper and comprising a structure extending outside but adjacent to andsubstantially parallel with the hopper wall, and

the spacing of such fasteners substantially coinciding with the spacingbetween said notches in the shutter plate.

3. A material spreader as described in claim 2 wherein said notches arepositioned substantially between the apertures of the shutter plate.

4. A material spreader as described in claim 3 wherein the number ofnotches on each longitudinal side of the shutter is substantially thesame as the number of apertures in the shutter, thereby providinguniform tightness of closure for each aperture when and as it is closed.

5. A material spreader comprising an elongated hopper with an elongatedrow of relatively short discharge ports in the bottom thereof; twosimilarly elongated rows of inwardly directed fingers secured to saidhopper, one on each side of said row of discharge ports; a shutter platehaving at least one aperture therein, said shutter plate also having aplurality of notches in two parallel edges thereof, each of said notchesbeing at least slightly larger than the corresponding finger butsubstantially shorter than the shutter edge wherein the notch is formed;the spacing of said ports, apertures, fingers and notches being suchthat the fingers and notches are registrable only when the apertures areout of register with the discharge ports.

6. A material spreader comprising a feed plate with an elongated seriesof discharge ports therein; a shutter plate with an elongated series ofapertures registrable with the discharge ports in variable degree, saidports and apertures having relatively short length as compared with thelength of the hopper, thereby involving a relatively short stroke forthe full range of register variation for said discharge ports andapertures; two parallel rows of longitudinally spaced inwardly directedfingers secured to said spreader on opposite sides of said dischargeports; and a shutter having two parallel rows of similarly spaced andslightly larger notches in the edges thereof, thereby allowing assemblyand disassembly of the hopper and shutter by means of a stroke of theshutter only slightly beyond the aforementioned stroke length.

. 7. A material spreader comprising a feed plate with an elongated rowof short discharge ports therein; a shutter plate with an elongated rowof similarly short, variably registrable apertures spaced similarly tothe discharge ports; two parallel rows of longitudinally spacedfasteners secured to said spreader on opposite sides of said dischargeports, each fastener having a holder means having extension toward theseries of discharge ports and resiliently bearing against the feedplate; and the shutter plate having two parallel rows of similarlyspaced slightly larger recesses, dimensioned to allow insertion thereinof the resilient portions of the fastener means, and spaced to allowvariable registration therewith, but not to allow registration therewithwhen said feed ports and apertures register with one another.

8. A material spreader comprising a feed plate with an elongated row ofdischarge ports therein; two parallel rows of longitudinally spacedfasteners secured to said plate and comprising inwardly directed holderson opposite sides of said discharge ports; a shutter strip having atleast one aperture therein adapted to register in varying degrees withat least one of the discharge ports, said shutter strip being formed ofresilient material and having a slightly greater radius of curvature inthe unfiexed condition than has said feed plate, said shutter stripfurther having two sets of edge indentations, one set on eachlongitudinal side thereof, registrable with said fasteners when and onlywhen said strip is in a position in which said aperture is out orregister with the corresponding discharge port, and the fasteners beingadapted to hold the shutter strip in flexed condition when assembled tosaid feed plate.

FORTUNATO S. AJERO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,155,204 Birnstock Sept. 28, 1915 1,173,503 Goetzke Feb. 29,1916 1,959,364 Hothersall May 22, 1934 2,510,231 Juzwiak June 6, 19502,541,008 Stahmer II et al Feb. 6, 1951

